The Camp
by Shmorgasopoly
Summary: Another Jonas makes it to Elsewhere fic, but this time with a twist or two! Rated for breathing room.
1. Chapter 1

**I have decided do switch gears, a lot.** **Time to write a Giver fic! **

**Okay, so everyone who reads Giver fics is going to be mad at me because I'm doing, yet another, Jonas-makes-it-to-Elsewhere fic. **

**The only difference is that this one will (hopefully!) have some twists incorporated into it.**

**When it comes to this story, the only things I own are Estelle, and anything associated with Estelle, which will probably be anything you don't recognize.**

**And for your daily dose of useless information, this is the first "postable" story I have written off of the top of my head. **

**Italics are thoughts. **

**This story is beta-free, all mistakes are mine.**

**My computer wasn't allowing me to download the special characters you need to use for Inupiaq, so you'll just have to deal with what I have here.**

**If you're still reading this, translations will be provided at the end. **

**My last rant, reviews are like happy pills, except they're non-prescription, so keep reviewing!**

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The music was just his imagination, the feeling of joy and happiness that the sound brought on flickered and died. Jonas thought he was so close, but he was so far away. He clutched Gabe tighter, salty tears flowing freely and running into his mouth.

For the first time in his life, he felt truly debilitating sadness.

Jonas sunk to his knees, and fell on his back. Fatigue had caught up with him, and he let his eyes close, blissfully unaware of the fact that hypothermia would soon take hold, and his chances of dying would soon skyrocket.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"If it weren't for the fact that I am the only Inuit at Camp and the best at winder survival, I would pass this job onto somebody else." She said to her dogs.

She let her concentration lapse for a minute, and the right runner on her sled hit a small trench in the snow-covered ground.

"Nuna navianaqtuq," She cried "What am I doing? I know how to guide a sled in the dark!"

She looked left at the trail blazed on the trees; this was a new trail for her, and she did not want to get lost with supplies only for a 32-hour trip.

"_Boss thought I deserved_ _a challenge,_" She thought "_And this is what I got. But this is pointless, no one saw anything out here when this trail was blazed, and I doubt anyone ever will."_

She looked at a rock with a trail marker, but as she was looking up, her peripheral vision caught an unnatural lump in the dark landscape.

Estelle shifted her position from the footboards to having one foot on the break, and one foot on the drag. "Whoa!" She called to her team.

Given the break and drag were both being applied, they slowed down fairly quickly. Estelle stepped off and put the snow hooks in the snow.

She ran through the landscape and saw what the unnatural lump was. A boy, about her age, it looked like, and a baby as well.

She took the baby in her arms and rocked him a bit.

"Ixaalugruaq, ataa hush." She soothed.

She zipped Gabe up in her parka and her relaxed almost immediately. Estelle then turned her attention on Jonas. She scooped him up and whispered to his unconscious form, "You are too cold."

She rearranged her supplies in her sled and zipped Jonas up in the sled bag. She unhooked to snow hooks and stepped back onto her sled.

"Hike up fellows!" She called to her dogs. They lurched forward and Estelle began the trip back to Camp, knowing Boss would be pleased that she had brought in a survivor.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

**Nuna navianaqtuq-Land is dangerous**

**Ixaalugruaq, ataa hush-Child, be still**

**Take into consideration that I am using an internet translator and these translations are probably not that accurate.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yes, the second chapter typed off the top of my head! That's a personal record!**

**Big surprise, I still don't own anything but the characters I made up. (And the plot, of course)**

**I still have no beta, and to make matters worse, I'm typing without my glasses, so if there are any weird mistakes in this, you can blame it on that.**

**Italics are thoughts, and my Inupiaq still hasn't improved.**

**Lastly, this whole story is inspired by Scott Westerfeld's book, _Uglies. _It's a great book, and if you enjoyed _The Giver_, I suggest you read it.**

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Jonas thought his mind was playing tricks on him, his blurred vision thought it saw a girl standing over him, pressing her wrist to his forehead. But as his vision began to clear, he realized she was no hallucination, and as he had all of his sight back, he looked closely at her. She had chocolate brown hair that fell close to her jaw, and was cut in such a way that it framed her sharp features. Her eyes were a bit rounder than anyone's in the community, they were the color of her hair, and held mystery and depth.

At that moment, he thought he was staring at the most beautiful woman on the face of the planet.

"Ah, I see the apun nukatpiabruk has returned to the land of the living."

Jonas squinted and thought hard. What the heck was an apun nukatpiabruk? Then he remembered something, The Giver had transmitted memories of people who spoke in foreign tongues, this person must be one of them.

"G…Gabe." He choked out.

"Oh, you mean the feisty little qitunbauraq. He is well. I'm sure you have a lot more questions than that, you rest up for a little while longer and I will see about getting some niqi…I mean food."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Jonas looked around the building. It was long, and had a high roof. Several other cots lined the wall behind him. There were two fires raging in fireplaces on both ends, and one large fire in the middle. Several people were sitting around it, conversing in mostly English, but occasionally adding snippets of their own language, or talking to a companion in their native tongue.

This place was unlike anything he had ever known.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Estelle grabbed her Inuit-made parka and dashed outside. She was halfway to the supply house before her friend, Malandra, pulled her aside.

"Who's this refugee you brought in?" She asked

"You know; some runaway from the community," Estelle answered "I'd better get his food."

Estelle grabbed the first thing she could get her hands on, and hoped it wasn't something she would normally eat.

She sped back to the meeting hall, getting a remark from a Native American fellow about evil spirits chasing her.

"_Note to self: Let loose some of my dogs on him."_ Estelle thought.

She burst through the door as stopped suddenly. Regaining composure, she walked over to Jonas.

Jonas scrutinized her further as she came over. The Giver had given him memories of jungle cats, and as Estelle walked, he found himself comparing her motion to the cats'. She appeared aware of all her surroundings, and looked as though she could pounce at any time. She was defiantly not a person to be messed with.

She pulled up a chair beside Jonas, pulled out a knife, and poked a hole in the can.

"Well," Estelle said "I'm sure you want to know who I am, eh? My English name is Estelle, but my given name is Biisaiyowaq, my parents called me Buniq, and my little brother calls me Ikniqpalagaq. You can just call my Estelle. Anything that you wish to know."

"Yeah, where am I? What is this place?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

**apun nukatpiabruk-Snow boy**

**qitunbauraq-Baby**

**Niqi-meat, food**

**Biisaiyowaq-Clever person, one who solves problems**

**Buniq-Sweet daughter**

**Ikniqpalagaq-Lighting in the sky**


	3. Chapter 3

**To the people who thought I was never going to complete this story, you're wrong. I just needed to get my thoughts organized. (Correct translation: I was having way too much fun writing my own fiction."**

**No beta, and I still don't own anything besides the things you don't recognize.**

**The bulk of this chapter might be just dialogue, but it should give you some valuable information.**

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - **

"This place,**" **Estelle began "How am I to describe this place. It…it is a refugee camp. You are probably blissfully unaware of the fact that the rest of the world is teetering on political chaos. Several world leaders got together to decide on a good way to end it. They got their brightest minds together and the result was your former world. Of course, they needed people, so they kidnapped people with brown hair and eyes and gave them strict rules to follow and even harsher punishments. My parents were some of the last to be taken, I was eleven then, I am sixteen now.

"This place is a melting pot of different cultures, my Inuit, my friend's American, and a fellow boy's Algonquin are just some of the many. I have learned two more languages just by living here.

"We to have strict rules, but these do not govern the way we live, just the way we work. We work to improve the lives for the poor, the sick, and those from the sameness, as well as many others. As soon as you are strong again, you will be expected to work. It is hard, but there are many rewards. Was that a good explanation?"

"Fine" Jonas spit out.

Estelle assumed that he was too stunned to speak in a coherent sentence. She too had been shocked to discover the truth. Then her mind bounced around another possibility, that he was mad, that he had never really experienced such work as laying tracks for the ponies to pull the carts deep into the coal mines, as well as other tasks of that kind of manual labor.

"_Maybe,"_ Estelle thought _"He will not adjust to living here, I did, but my old way of life was a hard way, working from morning to late afternoon. It may be too early to judge, but there is a strong possibility that this refugee will not like our way of life." _

An old man got up from his seat by the center fire, and silently padded his way over to Estelle. He set his hand on her shoulder. She let out a little yelp and fell to the floor with surprise.

"Is the boy better?" He asked in a hushed tone.

"Not yet, but soon, he will be, uvlaakullunnii." Estelle replied

"And as for you, young lady, you'd better keep your wits about. I thought you were hard to startle. Work on it." He lectured.

"Aaf, savaktaksrabigiga." Came her frantic Inuit reply.

The old man retuned to his seat by the fire. He appeared to be deep in thought. Suddenly, his head whipped back in the direction of Estelle,

"Don't forget! Classes start tomorrow; he can go, as you say… uvlaakullunnii."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

**Uvlaakullunnii-Maybe tomorrow**

**Aaf-Yes**

**Savaktaksrabigiga-I have to work on it**


	4. Chapter 4

**I have returned to the land of the living! Yes, I've finally decided to update. (Oh my God! It's a sign of the Apocalypse!)**

**Oh, and there's a bit of cursing in this chapter, but nothing too bad, I think only one or two.**

**This story may turn into a bit of a romance between Estelle and Jonas; it depends on your feedback.**

**Disclaimer: I own the plot and any material not related to _Giver_. For those that can't understand that: the _Giver_ belongs to people who aren't me. No beta so all mistakes are mine**

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Estelle usually awoke before the sunrise, partly so that she could get an early start on the day, and partly so that she could avoid the huge African man that would slam the door of her bunkhouse open and shout, "Get your sorry asses out of bed, you lazy people!"

Her first chore in the morning was to feed her dogs, which she always did in high spirits. After that, she proceeded to her classes, or whatever Boss told her to do.

She scanned the area, looking for Rosa, the old woman of Latin-American decent, who taught the youth of the camp. Not seeing her, she found Malandra and pulled her aside.

"Hey, have you seen Rosa?" Estelle asked.

"No, but Boss wants you for something, he says it's important." Malandra replied.

Estelle slowly turned around and took heavy steps towards Boss's quarters.

"Why does he want to see me?" Estelle muttered out loud.

She trudged through the wet snow that had fallen during the night, and stopped several feet before a small two-story cabin.

Estelle pulled the door open and cautiously entered the large living room.

"You want to see me?" She asked Boss.

"Yes, now, classes have been canceled for the day, because of certain religious beliefs. I want you to take the new boy out on the trail; you need to check the snares and the deadfalls Iñaki and his group set out yesterday. I feel that the boy needs to get out, he's strong enough and you're a capable driver. Can your dogs break out a new trail through all this wet slush?"

"Yes, they are strong qimmiqs and they are a good qimmich." Estelle replied.

"Good, I want you on the trail by ten, the stick shows that it's nine, I hope you can get you're dogs harnessed in an hour."

"I can!" Estelle yelled, already out the door.

Estelle ran to the large hall. Her eyes darted from one end to the other, searching for Jonas. She found him in the middle of the hall, staring at one of the large bonfires.

"Jonas! I need you!" Estelle yelled.

Jonas followed her as she left the hall. He ran to catch up with her as she went to a somewhat separate part of the camp.

Estelle kept going through the little settlement, past the municipal buildings, past other shelters, out past one of the fires that marked the perimeter of the camp. Estelle slowed to greet a small chestnut horse named Romeo.

"Hey, old fellow, sorry I have no treats for you today." Estelle said to Romeo.

"Horse" Commented Jonas.

"Was that a sentence or a question?" Estelle asked.

Jonas didn't respond.

They duo made their way past pens and pastures filled with cows, pigs, chickens, sheep, and a medley of other farm animals. Jonas paused by each different species to get a close look.

The last pen had several ramshackle kennels on the outer edges, and as Estelle approached, the occupants bounded forth to greet her.

"Okay, Jonas, this is my team of dogs." Estelle called the dogs out of the pen and sat them down in a row. "The first one on your left is Bridget; she's one of my lead dogs and is part golden retriever, part greyhound, and part Irish setter. The next one up is Chalk, my Chinook and other lead dog. Chinook is very old, she's pushing 16. Behind those two are Shadow, my half Eurohound-half wolf, and Rex, my Samoyed. He's fairly new to my team while Shadow is going to be retired in a few years. After them are Max, my qimmiq, you might know him as a Canadian Eskimo Dog. He's very new to my team, and still very rambunctious. Next to Max is Kodiak. She's an Alaskan husky. My wheel dogs are Vega, who is a Greenland dog, and last but not least, a Siberian husky, named Rusty. Can you remember it all?"

Jonas nodded his head yes.

"Good," Estelle replied in a no-nonsense voice "Now give me a hand harnessing them up."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Wet snow is not good for breaking out trails, the extra friction on the runners slows you down considerably, making it impossible to get anywhere fast. It didn't take long for Jonas to figure out that they were behind schedule; Estelle was muttering unintelligible curses, punctuated by several English words, primarily "Boss."

"Whoa!" She shrieked at her team. The team quickly pulled up.

"Why did we stop?" Jonas asked.

"Well, I need to take off a few layers and get my knife out of its sheath."

Estelle quickly shrugged off her coat, sweater, and shirt, leaving just the long underwear top and a camisole underneath that. She felt eyes burning holes in her back and turned around, seeing Jonas with a very confused look on his face.

"Look, I have no idea what they taught you where you came from, but this is politically correct here." Estelle commented. She redressed and stepped back on the sled, muttering more in Inupiaq.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Well, that was a com-puh-letely useless trip!" Estelle raged. The whole time they were out they didn't see a single sprung trap. Estelle was raving, and most people were smart enough to get out of her way as she pulled the sled into camp.

She stormed off, wanting nothing more than to sit down and do nothing, but the sound of Malandra yelling for her turned her in the other direction.

"The Boss wants you." Malandra said.

"God, twice in one day, it must be a new record." Estelle retorted.

"I don't know what he wants, but he sounded mad when he told me to find you." Malandra replied.

"I doubt he's mad, he always sounds like that." Estelle commented.

Estelle walked for the second time that day to the cabin in the middle of the settlement. She anxiously opened the door and was instantly greeted by the old voice of the Boss.

"Estelle, I have a mission for you and the new boy."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

**Qimmiq-Dog**

**Qimmiq-Team **


	5. Chapter 5

**I still own nothing related to the Giver, just the plot and the non-Giver characters.**

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Estelle stood in the middle of the room wearing a puzzled look on her face.

"What is it you need…me…to do?" She asked.

"You," The Boss paused "And the boy, Jonas, you are going to infiltrate the outside world. I will warn you that the world has fallen into complete and utter chaos. The global powers are shifting, and they need a peaceful society. Their plan is to form a global sameness, to eradicate everyone that are of different races, different looks, and different beliefs. In short, it will be a second Holocaust."

Estelle took a deep breath, letting the seriousness of their situation sink in.

"You, Ms. Estelle, I am charging you and the boy with the task of bringing down this plot from the inside, either by subversive tactics, turning the minds of those overseeing the plot, or by force. I would prefer _the first two_. Now go, find the boy, pack, and leave by nightfall. You should be able to reach a town called Ethridge, Montana, in about a day or two if you travel well. From there, find a way to get to the East Coast of the United States." The Boss finished.

Estelle stood, taking deep breaths, trying not to panic at the thought of leaving the encampment.

"One more thing," The Boss began "Try not to get yourself killed, Estelle."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Estelle was missing.

Most of the residents of the camp figures she had gone off with her dogs, but Malandra knew better. She knew Estelle was at the kennel, probably holding tightly onto one of her dogs, whilst fighting back tears. Malandra knew that Estelle would probably be wracked with sadness over the memories of her parents, whose loss she had never really let go of. Malandra was prepared to face the onslaught of bad words that would be thrown at her by the grieving woman. She knew that her closest friend, the one person she cared about above all others, would have let her barriers down, and the emotional train wreck of a person would be before her.

Malandra's thoughts were mostly right, but she made a mistake about what was wrong with Estelle.

Gingerly opening the kennel door, a grief-stricken Estelle shouted at her "Aullaqtuq!"

"Estelle," Malandra said "I know you're missing your parents, but please, let me help you."

"No." Estelle said sternly.

"Estelle, please, I know you are…qigluktuq, but will you…uqabvigigaa?"

Estelle looked up and chuckled softly. "Your Inupiaq is still as bad as it always was."

Malandra sat down beside Estelle. "What bothers you?" she asked.

"I'm fair sure I don't have the favor of the Boss anymore. He's sending me and Jonas on an impossible mission, to bring peace and order to the not so free world." Estelle paused "I think he's just doing this so I can have some time to think and reflect on my troubles. He told me not to get killed. I wonder if this has anything to do with what happened last summer."

"Don't bring that up Estelle, it's not good for your health." Malandra cautioned.

"I didn't do that! So many months and still no one will believe me!" Estelle yelled.

"But Estelle, the evidence was overwhelming!" Malandra started, getting wrapped up in the new topic quickly. "You were found by the side of the trail, knife resting by your hand, and large gash to your abdomen! Don't tell me you didn't try to kill yourself!"

"Malandra," Estelle whispered. "I told you, I told you all! I was attacked! You people, you idiots, you found my fingerprints _on my knife_! Well of course you would find them there! But, you all failed to realize that I was framed. The evidence for that was overwhelming too!" Her voice had risen into a frenzied yell and then began to sink back into a whisper "And besides, if I ever got it in my mind to commit suicide, I would do it in a less painful way."

Estelle stormed out, leaving one very flustered Malandra aimlessly scratching a dog.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Du."

Jonas turned.

"Ja, du," The boy continued "Du sollst der Chef besuchen. Oh, es tut mir Leid. I thought you could understand German. Anyway, the Boss needs to see you. Follow me, bitte."

The two walked out of the large hall and down a path, leading to the well-constructed house that apparently belonged to the Boss.

The German boy knocked on the door.

"Come in," said an old voice "I hope you have brought Jonas."

"Ja." The German boy replied.

"Thank you, please leave now. This is a private conversation." The German boy beat a hasty retreat.

"I'm glad you could join me." The Boss said "Please, sit anywhere."

There was a moment of silence in which Jonas took a good look at the Boss. He looked to be as old as the Giver, but then realized that that couldn't possibly be true, remembering that the Giver told him that he was younger than he looked. Jonas felt a pang of remorse for the Giver and the community.

"I'm sorry I had to tell you this in person, Jonas. I had told something important to Estelle, and I would have hoped that she would have passed it onto you. Have you seen her since yesterday?"

Jonas shook his head no

"Ah. Oh well. She certainly is an odd one, always has been, especially since last summer…" He shuddered at the memory. "Well, moving on, I need your help. I need you to fix the world with Estelle." The Boss shared his plan, and Jonas thought hard to remember what the Giver had shared with him about the outside world.

"But why do you trust all of this with me and Estelle?" Jonas asked.

"Son," The Boss laid a hand on Jonas's shoulder "I have had the pleasure of knowing Estelle very closely for the past five years, and I trust more than almost every other person in this camp. I would have sent her alone, but she seems to have taken a fondness to you, and I ask you to watch over her. Although I think you have some qualities that may prove…useful out there."

Jonas opened his mouth to speak.

"Now be gone" The Boss shouted "Let me rest!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

**Aullaqtuq-Go away**

**Qigluktuq-**** is saddened about a loss**

**Uqabvigigaa-**** talks about it**

**Du sollst der Chef besuchen-You should see the boss**

**Es tut mir Leid-I'm sorry**


End file.
